Customers have the power to make changes
The voice of the customer has changed – it can influence the actions of even the biggest companies.
When Bank of America announced that it would begin charging debit card users a $5 monthly fee, 22-year-old Molly Katchpole got mad and started an online petition.
Her petition eventually gained more than 306.000 signatures and that started the movement that later forced Bank of America to drop its decision to impose monthly fees on debit card users.
Here’s a quote from Bank of America’s co-chief operating officer David Darnell:
“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee. Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”
Is every company is now sitting on electronic quicksand? The victory over Bank of America may be part of a much larger trend — a consumer backlash against companies. Some see the instant backlash against Netflix and Bank of America as the Occupy Wall Street of the no longer silent majority.
One bad PR move can lead to major problems for companies.
Make sure to read: Lessons from the GoDaddy customer revolt from HBR
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Consumers have the power to make changes — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/bme
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